'From hell to heaven' - Bayern Munich reject Ryan Gravenberch is now Liverpool's most important player and deserves bumper new contract to keep him away from Real Madrid

It's funny to think about it now but had Liverpool bought Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund for a nine-figure fee in the summer of 2023 - as was their dream - they wouldn't have signed Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Gravenberch, the £34m deadline-day signing from Bayern Munich that felt like an after-thought, a last-minute attempt to address Jurgen Klopp's shortage of options in midfield.

What's more, had Liverpool managed to complete a deal for Martin Zubimendi last summer, it's highly unlikely that we'd have seen so much of Gravenberch in the defensive midfield position that he's made his own over the past year. 

They say, though, that necessity is the mother of invention, and Slot's need for a No.6 specifically suited to his style of play completely changed the course of a career that was in danger of going off the rails in Munich.

Gravenberch had arrived at the Allianz Arena in 2022 touted as one of the most exciting prospects in world football, the latest in a long line of potential superstars to come out of Ajax.

However, Gravenberch got very little game time under then-Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann, who has since claimed that he wasn't solely to blame, alleging that he felt under pressure to pick Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka ahead of the new arrival from the Netherlands.

"I was the new coach at FC Bayern and it wasn't easy to put players from the German national team on the bench," Nagelsmann told Sky Deutschland.

Whatever the truth, what we know for sure is that Gravenberch was devastated by spending so much time on the bench.

"Under Nagelsmann, I would go three matches in a row spending 90 minutes watching my team," he admitted. "That is when I started to go crazy in my head.

"In the winter, I was totally done with it, but during the last two months of the season under (Thomas) Tuchel, I got more minutes than in the entire period before."

Even when Bayern won the league, though, Gravenberch couldn't bring himself to properly celebrate the success.

"I was happy we were champions, but my contribution was small," he said. "I know we stood there as champions but I did not feel like a champion at all. It was a totally different feeling from all the other times I won trophies."

And particularly Liverpool's 2024-25 title win.

Gravenberch was blown away by the outpouring of emotion that followed Liverpool winning a record-equalling 20th Championship.

"It was honestly something really special, something I'll never forget. The scenes on the bus as we approached Anfield before the Spurs game, that afternoon we won the league, will stay with me forever," the Premier League Young Player of the Season told Numero Netherlands.

"The passion on the fans' faces, the red flares, the noise, the songs, just seeing what it meant to them, it gave me goosebumps. That image will never leave me. 

"The celebrations with the lads afterwards, that moment when it really hit us that we'd done it, was incredible. Liverpool's second Premier League title in five years, and my first.

"From my point of view, as a small child, you dream of these moments, so to achieve this is really special. I'm proud to have played a part in what was an unforgettable season."

Of course, Gravenberch hadn't just played a part, he'd been utterly integral to his team's triumph.

Gravenberch's talent was obvious during his first season at Liverpool under Klopp but he had still looked a little lost at times. After the Zubimendi U-turn, though, Slot found the perfect position for the Netherlands international in front of the back four.

However, Gravenberch adapted better - and quicker - to the change than even Slot imagined. Indeed, the player's father knew after the second match of the 2024-25 season, against Brentford, that everything was about to change for his son.

"One minute before the game ended, Arne took Ryan off so he could get the applause," Gravenberch senior told ESPN. "I was in the stands and the whole stadium stood up and applauded.

"I just broke down because I thought: 'They're doing this for my boy.' That was the moment where I thought: 'This is it.'" And it was.

As well as winning possession more times (193) in the Premier League last season than any other Liverpool player, and making more interceptions (60) than any other midfielder, Gravenberch also demonstrated a remarkable ability to break the opposition press that Slot attributes to a unique gift for gliding past opponents.

"This is a special quality Ryan has, that he can turn away from his man," Slot enthused. "He is one of the few holding midfielders, pivots, that can create an overload with a dribble.

"Mostly, these players pass a lot, and Ryan is good in passing as well. But to create an overload with a dribble, you don't see this many times from a No.6."

Slot really is right, then, when he says that Gravenberch is "unique". There are few better midfielders in the world right now.

Pedri and Vitinha are both absolutely outstanding while Rodri remains the standard by which all others are judged - but there isn't another No.6 in the game has Gravenberch's particular set of skills and the crazy thing is that, at 23, he's only going to get better.

We're already seeing an improvement, in fact. 

Gravenberch has only played five games in all competitions this season - yet he's already matched his tally of direct goal involvements for the 2024-25 campaign (four) by netting against both Newcastle and Everton, while at the same time creating goals for Mohamed Salah, in the Champions League, and Hugo Ekitike, in the Merseyside derby.

"Last year, I didn't even score once," he pointed out in an interview with TNT Sports. "So, of course this season I want more goals and assists. But it's the coach that gives me the confidence. He's very clear. What comes to his mind, he tells you. And also the tactical part is really good.

"This season, we have more freedom in the midfield. Last season I was only on the six, like deep, deep. Now I can go more forward."

The net result is that Gravenberch is "in the form of his life", as Virgil van Dijk put it last weekend.

"He’s unbelievable," the Liverpool captain said of his compatriot. "He's very important to the way we play. For me personally, you see the amount of times I try to look for him [for a pass]. It benefits him, me and the team.

"He’s in incredible shape and he's still young. The expectation level will always be right up there and that's what he has to try to reach every three or four days. It's a nice challenge.

"During his first season here he hardly played, so it's a mix of everything: getting confidence, progressing and improving as a player, playing games at the highest level and knowing your role in the team.

"I'm very pleased for him because he puts in a lot of hard work to do what he is doing."

If recent reports are to be believed, that hard work is going to be rewarded with a new deal that better reflects his importance to his team.

Of course, giving Gravenberch a longer and more lucrative contract would have the added bonus of making it clear to his admirers in Madrid just how highly valued he is at Anfield.

In an interview with MARCA earlier this year, the player's agent Jose Rodriguez claimed that his client "would love to play for Real" one day but it's hard to see him pushing for a transfer anytime soon.

"The whole Bayern Munich adventure never worked out like he expected," Gravenberch senior told Helden. "He was working really hard, but he was never given a chance to shine. At that time, we could not dream that he would get a transfer to Liverpool and that Arne Slot would become his coach.

"When I look at what has happened to him with Slot and Liverpool I have to say in all honesty that he has gone from hell to heaven!"

Which is why he isn't in any rush whatsoever to leave. And even if he does, you can be sure that it'll be for a lot more than €65m.